Gaming Devices
Gaming devices are well known in the art and a large variety of gaming devices have been developed. In general, gaming devices allow users or players to play a game. In many casino-type gaming devices, the outcome of the game depends, at least in part, on a randomly generated event. For example, a gaming device may use a random number generator to generate a random or pseudo-random number. The random number may then be compared to a predefined table to determine the outcome of the event. If the random number falls within a certain range of numbers on the table, the player may win a predefined prize. The table may also contain display information that allows the gaming device to generate a display that corresponds to the outcome of the game. The gaming device may present the outcome of the game on a large variety of display devices, such as mechanical spinning reels or video screens.
Bonus Prizes
Some gaming devices award bonuses in addition to prizes that are awarded in the primary game. A bonus can be defined as an additional prize that is awarded to the player when a predefined event occurs. An example of a bonus game can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,932 issued to Adams. One of the gaming devices described in this document comprises three spinning reels and a spinning wheel bonus display. When predetermined indicia are displayed on the spinning reels of the primary game, the wheel can be activated to indicate a bonus prize. The bonus prize is awarded in addition to any prizes awarded in the primary game.
Generally, bonus prizes are offered in such games in order to increase the excitement and enjoyment experienced by players. This attracts more players to the game and encourages players to play longer. When gaming devices attract more players and the players play longer, they tend to be more commercially successful relative to other gaming devices.
Display Devices
In addition, highly visible display devices are utilized on gaming devices in order to attract players. Once players are attracted to the gaming device, they tend to play longer because the display device enhances the stimulation and excitement experienced by players. It is, therefore, desirable for gaming devices to incorporate highly visible display devices.
The applicants believe that display devices tend to be more successful if they are a derivation of a well-known game or theme. They are more successful because players tend to be drawn to games that they instantly recognize. Many players are reluctant to try completely new games because they must spend time to learn the new game. It is, therefore, desirable to provide display devices that are based on well-known games or themes.
The applicants also believe that display devices also tend to be more successful if they utilize physical objects rather than simulations. Although video devices and electronic signs can be used for display devices, players are more attracted to display devices that utilize physical objects. Physical objects can be even more effective display devices if they are moveable and they are used in combination with lights and sounds.
Keno
Upon an initial examination, it would appear to the applicants that the display device of Keno is an excellent choice for a display device for gaming devices. Keno is well known to the playing public, and it utilizes a highly visible and attractive display device. The display device comprises a container with a plurality of numbered balls. The balls in the container are agitated or jumbled, usually by a jet of air, to a state where they ricochet off of the walls of the container.
In the game of Keno, players select numbers that may be drawn from the Keno display device. The display device jumbles or mixes numbered balls in the container and then draws a predetermined number of balls from the container. Players are paid based on the number of balls drawn from the display device that match the numbers they selected.
However, before the present invention, the Keno display device has been unsuitable for use with gaming devices. One of the reasons this is so is because Keno is susceptible to environmental influences. As the balls are jumbled in the Keno ball device, static electricity, dust, and contaminants build up on the balls. This may cause the balls to stick to each other or to components in the display device thereby influencing the randomness of the game. Furthermore, the balls used in Keno displays may have slightly different weights or sizes that subtly affect the outcome of the game. An important aspect of any gaming device is resistance to environmental influences that could affect the results of the game.
Another reason the game of Keno has been unsuitable as an indicator for a gaming device is that it requires a great deal of human involvement. In many Keno games, human operators are required to read the numbers of the Keno balls as they are selected and input the numbers into a computer or display. Furthermore, operators must regularly clean the Keno balls and the Keno devices to keep dust and contaminants from building up on the balls. Not only does this require excessive human involvement for an automated gaming device (the greater the human involvement, the greater the cost of operating the game), the game is also susceptible to tampering and cheating.
Because of their susceptibility to environmental influences and tampering and their dependence on human operators and maintenance personnel, Keno games are not allowed in at least one major gaming jurisdiction. Furthermore, these disadvantages have prevented Keno display devices and other devices that use jumbled balls from being modified for use with gaming devices. The applicants have discovered that what has long been needed is a way for configuring jumbled ball display devices for use with gaming devices. Although reference is made to the game of Keno, it is to be understood that the present invention may be used with almost any type of ball, jumbled ball, or action unit display device, such as lottery balls, for example.
Bingo
Similar to Keno, some Bingo game devices utilize a container with a plurality of numbered balls. The balls in the container are agitated or jumbled, usually by rotation of the container. Players receive cards with a grid of cells or spaces. A randomly determined number of symbols is printed in each cell. As balls are randomly drawn from the container, players mark cells on their cards when the numbers on the ball correspond to numbers in the cell. The first player to fill a column, row, or diagonal line on the card with marks, wins the game. Although Bingo devices are well known and provide an attractive display, they suffer from the same problems as Keno devices. Therefore, before the present invention, they have not been considered acceptable for use with gaming devices.
Jumbled Ball Displays
The use of jumbled displays is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,871,171 issued to Rivero and U.S. Pat. No. 5,380,007 issued to Travis et al. Rivero appears to disclose a game device with means for simulating the release of a ball, wherein a rotating drum is provided with numbered balls and as the drum rotates, a ball is released into a transparent tube. However, Rivero is not intended to show the player the ball that is released from the drum. Rather, the ball is held in the tube, out of view of the player, and an electronic simulation of the ball number is presented in a window. This is intended to give the player “the impression” that the ball has been counted. Rivero does not disclose nor suggest displaying actual balls to the player to indicate the outcome of the game or the value of a prize. In addition, in the Rivero device the balls are in a cage and quite exposed to the environment and the potential for tampering. The ball cage of Rivero is also mounted on the front side and well below the top of the gaming machine, hiding the ball cage from view of potential game players who are not in position to see the front side of the machine.
Travis et al. appears to disclose a video lottery gaming device with numbered balls. However, all of the balls are simulations generated by software and no physical balls are actually displayed to the player. Travis et al. also does not disclose nor suggest displaying actual balls to the player to indicate the outcome of the game or the value of a prize.
One of the disadvantages with Rivero and Travis et al. is that no actual physical balls are used to display the outcome of a game. This is not desirable because players prefer to see physical objects rather than electronic simulations of the physical objects. Moreover, players tend to believe that a game device is misleading when the device purports to display a simulation of an object rather than the object itself. This is especially true when the object itself is supposedly available for viewing, as is the case in Rivero.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,737 issued to Frank et al. appears to disclose a lottery machine where a player pre-selects a number and is able to view a plurality of indicia-bearing balls being air-mixed and the subsequent settling of a limited number of balls into ball-holding pockets where optoelectronic identification is used to compare the indicia on the settled indicia-bearing balls to the player's pre-selected number in order to determine if a match (prize) has been attained. One of the disadvantages of Frank et al. is that the device is subject to environmental contamination from static electricity, dust and other contaminants that accumulate on the surface of the balls which may cause the balls to stick to other balls or surfaces in the device and consequently affect the randomness of the game outcome, in this case, which balls settle into the ball-holding pockets.